Recipes

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons. Crisp, cool mornings turning to warm sunny days, colors fading from green to gold, sweaters, apples, squash, and pumpkin....

One great thing about returning home after much of my summer in France, was coming home to an overflowing garden. I'm not sure how it survived since it was more or less left to it's own device for several weeks. But, my garden is bursting with kale, beets, carrots, squash, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, chard, and snap peas. So exciting!

To celebrate the early harvest I decided to make a dish incorporating several ingredients from my garden. I like eggplant, but it's a finicky relationship. On it's own, eggplant leaves much to be desired. It's gross, to be fully honest. But incorporated with a multitude of spices and flavors, eggplant can be downright delightful. Normally, I use eggplant in curries, where it soaks up the coconut and curry flavors and tastes divine. I wanted to try a different approach, one that enhanced the flavor of the eggplant, rather than masked it. I read through a couple cookbooks for inspiration, stopping on a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, for a North African style Chermoula Aubergine. This dish relied heavily on spices but still made the eggplant the start pupil. I liked it.

I decided to change up the focus of the enhancement ingredients to fit what I had on hand. The original recipe includes sweet and savory notes from golden raisins, lemon, and green olives. Instead, I decided to make a heartier mixture of sautéed mushrooms, onions, and kale. I also decided to use fresh basil, rather than the mint and cilantro used by Ottolenghi.

To begin, I used 6 small eggplants. Using larger eggplants would work better in this recipe, but I only had small ones. I began by slicing them in half, length wise, then scoring the flesh in a diagonal criss cross pattern. I put the halves in a glass baking dish and pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees.

As the oven was pre-heating, I made the marinade: olive oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, lemon, salt, and a little cayenne. I divided the mixture among the eggplants and then put them in the oven to bake.

While waiting for the eggplants to cook, I made the filling. I was torn between using wheat berries or bulgar for the grain, but bulgar eventually won out because I only had a small amount of wheat berries on hand. Both would be delicious though. I began cooking the bulgar in a small saucepan and simultaneously started sautéing some crimini mushrooms and a small onion in olive oil. Be careful Steph....that's a lot going on at once.

As the mushrooms and onion began to soften, I added 4 large leaves of torn kale and turned the burner off. The goal was to have the kale slightly wilted, but still resembling kale. When the bulgar was finished cooking, I added it to the pan of mushrooms and kale. To add some flavor, I squeezed in some fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, and chopped basil.

After about 30 minutes in the oven, the eggplants were soft and juicy. To put everything together, I added scoops of the bulgar mixture on top of the eggplants, letting it spill over the sides. Then I topped each eggplant with a healthy scoop of plain greek yogurt. Drizzle with olive oil and top with basil and cherry tomatoes.

This dish pairs will with a good NorthWest IPA.

Stuffed Eggplant

by Stephanie Howe

Prep Time: 15-20 min

Cook Time: 40 min

Keywords: bake entree fall

6074825

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 Large or 4-6 Small Eggplants

2-3 cloves Garlic

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cayenne

1/3 c olive oil

Salt

1 c Bulgur or wheat berries

1/2 onion

2-3 crimini mushrooms

3-4 Kale leaves

2 T lemon juice

2 T Fresh basil

plain greek yogurt

olive oil

cherry tomatos

Instructions

For the Eggplants

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Slice 2 large or 5-6 small eggplants lengthwise. Score the flesh in a diagonal criss cross pattern and arrange the halves, cut side up in a glass baking dish.

Combine olive oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, lemon, salt, and cayenne in a small dish and spread evenly over the eggplants.

Bake for 30 min or until soft.

For the Bulgar

Heat 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Once boiling, add bulgar and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 (ish) minutes.

Add mushrooms and onion to a frying pan along with olive oil to coat. Cook over medium high heat until mushrooms and onion begin to soften. Remove from heat and add kale leaves, torn into small bite sized pieces. Stir and set aside.

When bulgar is finished, add to the mushroom and kale mixture. Stir in lemon juice, basil, and salt and stir to combine.

To assemble, add bulgar on top of each eggplant, letting it spill over the sides. Top with a large spoonful of plain greek yogurt, drizzle with olive oil and add chopped basil, and cherry tomatoes.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Through tear stained eyes I look up and nod a silent thank you. No more “allez” or “bon journey” as I heard earlier in the day. Instead those who saw me wished
me courage. They understood and wished me strength to continue.

Courage.

At the time, when completing the task at hand was overwhelming,
it was a glimmer of hope I held on to. Courage to face my suffering head
on. Courage to persevere and not give up. And once again, I found myself in that dark
place, where all I could do was just continue moving forward.

I was ready to have a good race at UTMB. More importantly, I was ready
to be normal, smiley Stephanie while racing. My struggles at Western States just
a few weeks earlier were still somewhat fresh and had taken a lot out
of me, physically and mentally. I wasn’t ready to push myself into that deep of a hole again. It took me weeks to come out of it, and I just wanted a positive
experience at UTMB.

I arrived in Chamonix early, and spent my time just playing in the
mountains. It was complete bliss and fully recharged me my mind and body. By
race week I was excited to run again.

So what happened? In comparison, my dark struggles at Western States
were a cake walk compared to what I experienced at UTMB. Yet again I learned
something about myself as I struggled for so long.

*************************************************************

DAY 1

The start of UTMB is something I will never forget. After waiting all day twiddling my thumbs, we walked down to the start line around 5:15pm for our 6:00pm start. Downtown was buzzing with people and excitement. There were literally thousands of people in the streets, racing and spectating. It was quite the scene!

And suddenly we were off, running down main street and trying
not to be run over by men with full length poles sticking out like spears. It was kind of crazy, but I managed to stay on my feet.

Sometime after the crowd thinned out, I found myself stride for stride with Zach. Who
would have thought? We had each planned on running our own races, but found ourselves running the same speed. I’ll take it! It was awesome to spend some of the
early miles together when we were both happy and enjoying the race. Running
into the first big aid station at Saint Gervais we were both high fiving the little kids
lining the streets. What a cool experience!

Zach and I continued to run together through the next aid
station, where we saw our crew for the first time. Chris and Elisa Cheng had
made the trip over from Bend to crew for Zach and I. I think they were a little
surprised to see us running together, but it made it easier to find us. We
refueled quickly, and left Les Contamines together, running into the night.

This was the beginning of the end for me.

It’s well known that I’m a morning person. I hate staying up
late and I start to fall apart if I get tired and it’s getting past my bedtime.
It’s not awesome. During road trips I’d rather wake up at 4:00am then drive into
the night. I just shut down. The same happens when I’m racing. I’ve only had a
few experiences of running through the night, but they’ve all gone rather
horribly. Run Rabbit Run last year, I DNFed at mile 80 around 4:00am. I dropped
due to a knee injury, but was also not loving life for the previous 4 hours. My
stomach was in complete shambles and I could hardly stay awake. Similarly, during
the Grand Traverse skimo race, which begins at midnight, I could not fuel well
until the sun came up, 6 hours into the race. I know this about myself, but I
don’t know how to fix it. It’s like my body rejects being active, or doing
anything but sleep during the middle of the night. It’s ok when this occurs
late in a race, because I know it won’t be long. But when it happens early in a
race it’s a problem, because early is when the good running and fueling happen.
I have some ideas and am anxious to try them out. Elisa suggested that I
becoming nocturnal for a month or so to prepare. Rave anyone? But seriously I
do want to figure this out because I don’t want to do limit my racing because
of it.

Climbing out of Les Contamines (30k) was actually quite
pleasant. It wasn’t too cold, and there was a full moon. And Zach and I were
still together. It was a tough climb, but early on and still feeling good. The
bonfires, music, and cheers from the spectators also didn’t hurt. We settled
into the long climb up to the Croix du Bonhomme (44k).

It started to get tough for me here. It was late and the
terrain was steep and technical. After descending from Col de la Sienge, we and
began a fairly technical section up Col des Pyramides Calcaires (62K). I
couldn’t believe no one told me about this part since many had given me advice
about the tough sections beforehand. I later found out this was a “bonus” section.
Lucky us! I struggled to climb both up and down on the loose rock, trying to
save my legs. It was windy, I was moving slowly, and my stomach was starting to
feel off. I didn’t love it.

The miles between Col des Pyramides Calcaires and Courmayeur
(80k) are somewhat blurry to me right now. I was pretty sleepy and just
responded to the terrain in front of me. I wasn’t moving very well nor was I
feeling very well, but I kept moving forward. There was still time to turn it
around.

***********************************************************

DAY 2

Reaching Courmayeur marked the end of the first day for me. In my mind I had broken the course into three sections:

1) Start to Courmayeur

2) Courmayeur to Champex-Lac

3) Champex-Lac to Chamonix

This allowed me to focus on what I was doing rather than think about the overwhelming task of getting around the entire mountain.

I entered Courmayeur in a slightly distressed state. I was
very happy to see Elisa and Chris as I entered the aid station. Elisa offered
me a buffet of all my favorite race foods I’d packed. I just shook my head.
Just fill my bladder with coke. It was starting; I was fueling with just
liquids already. Ugh. Normally I switch to soda during the last 10-20 miles of
race, not at halfway. I also sat down for the first time ever (@Torsten- taking
your advice!) and ate a plate of pasta. It was a nice break, and I could have
just stayed there the rest of the night.

I sloshed my way out of Courmayeur and realized that the
bladder in my pack was getting full. Like really full. I laughed out loud…..the
coke! Running with fizzy coke in my pack made it fill with CO2. I had to stop several times to let the air out. Noted.

Sunrise on Saturday came much earlier than I had expected.
Maybe I was a little slower than expected, but either way the alpenglow was a
welcome sight. By the time I climbed out of Courmayeur and reached Bertone
(85k), it was light. And I was so happy. My stomach was starting to settle and
I was feeling much more awake.

The section of running from Bertone to Col Ferret is my
absolute favorite. I’d done it twice before the race because it was just so
beautiful. As a bonus, it happens to be a nice runnable section. I started to
move a little better, but my lack of fueling was definitely catching up with
me. I didn’t have much energy and I was starting to get emotional. Upon arrival
at the next aid station, Bonatti (92k), I burst into tears. I could not help
myself. I sobbed and sobbed. One of the volunteers sat and hugged me and fed me
soup. This when I first heard the phrase “Courage
Stephanie!”I don’t know who those
volunteers were, but they were the first in a series of people who helped me
find the strength to continue.

The next section is also a bit of a blur for me. It was
starting to get really hot and the coke was not really cutting it. I
literally stumbled up Col Ferret and down the other side into Switzerland. In a
better state I would have loved this section. It was smooth, buttery trail that
descended all the way to La Fouly. Next time.

As I neared La Fouly I recognized the blue skirt of my TNF
teammate Fernanda Macial just ahead of me. My heart went out for her. We
arrived in La Fouly together and both took a seat and began sobbing. Again, I
couldn’t control it. I was so emotional and distraught. After several minutes (or 30, but who’s counting) Fernanda asked if I was going to drop. I shook
my head no. I had to at least make it to Champex-Lac to see Elisa. “Then let’s just walk together” So
Fernanda and I left together, determined to make it 17k to the next aid station.
We shared only a few words, but mostly just suffered together. I’m not happy
Fernanda was having a tough race, but it was so comforting to be together. I
would not have made it by myself! Fernanda waited for me while I sat in the
shade a few times along the course. I was out of coke, water, and fuel. It was
a very slow, tough, tear filled section. But we did it together.

Fernanda and I walked into the Champex-Lac aid station holding hands, both sobbing. I’m sure it was a sight to see. I didn’t even care at that point.
I was just done. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. Elisa grabbed my hand
and led me over to a table. I took off my pack and just sobbed. Elisa hugged and comforted me. “I’m done” I
told her. “Just take some time. Lay down,
eat, rest. Then you can go back out there.” She was not going to take no
for an answer.

No words. Champex-Lac

I spent the next 90 minutes coming back to life. I had given
up at racing at this point, so I took as long as I needed to summon up the
strength to go back out there. I took a nap, got my feet attended to, and ate bowl
after bowl of pasta Bolognaise (thanks Chris!) Elisa really had to
convince me to keep going. I didn’t think I could do it. But she told me “You are tougher than you think” Am I?

Starting to feel alive

After I started to feel human again, Elisa urged me to go
on. At least make it to the next aid station, then we could reassess. I wasn’t
sure, but I decided to try. The next section was 17k, but with a pretty big
climb. I was looking at 3.5- 4 hours on the trail before the next checkpoint. “Courage Stephanie” I could at least
try……

**********************************************************

DAY 3

I left Champex-Lac in decent spirits. My plan was to walk. Just move forward. I was a little embarrassed about how long I’d spent at Champex-Lac, but it seemed necessary. I had no idea what place I was in, and I
didn’t care. I wasn’t racing anymore, I was surviving.

It’s a good thing I didn’t know what the next section was
like or it would have been difficult to convince me to go on. I knew it
was a big climb and descent, but I didn’t know how rocky it was. I found myself
using all fours to get over some of the boulders. It was brutal and slow.

About halfway through the section I started to feel a little
emotional again. This became a theme: I’d refuel and leave the aid stations
with a smile, then start to run out of energy and enter the next aid station in
tears. I started to recognize this pattern and realized that when I started to whimper
it meant I needed some fuel.

Entering into Trient (144k), I was greeted by some familiar
faces from the Bay area. These were the next bunch of people that helped me find
strength to continue. I can’t even say how much their encouragement meant to
me.

I had it in my mind I was going to finish, so I tried to
limit my time at the Trient aid station. I still sat down and ate, refilled my pack,
and listen to Elisa urging me on. It was starting to get late in the day and I was
going to need a headlamp soon. We decided if I rushed out asap I could get to
Vallorcine still in the daylight. So without thinking too much, I was on my way, through
a tunnel of my cheering Bay area friends (thanks guys!!)

On the climb out of Trient I had my next surprise. I heard
someone say my name up ahead, and I looked up to see a familiar face. “Is that you?!” And indeed it was: my good friend Wam, who I took classes with at Oregon State and lives in Chamonix. We had been trying to meet up earlier in the month without success. It absolutely made my day to see
him out on the trail. And during a time that I really needed some
encouragement. Wam bounded up the hill like it was nothing and kept cheering me
on over the climb. It was so uplifting.

I descended into Vallorcine, yet again in tears. But this was
it…..the last section. I was going to make it around the f$%^%$ mountain. Again
I saw the familiar faces and actually smiled through my tears. I sat down with
Elisa and she made me some bread and cheese sandwiches, while Topher gave me
the low down on the last 10 miles.

As I left the aid station I was overwhelmed with a sense of humility.
Here I was at rock bottom, transparent for all to see. I passed my Bay area
friends and I caught of glimpse of Magda Boulet. Her eyes said it all. She
understood my suffering.

I started off down the trail where Kim Gaylord joined me for
a few minutes. “So I just saw Zach……and
he’s racing in his underwear” WHAT? I turned to Kim in disbelief and started
laughing. Of course Zach is racing in his underwear. Apparently his shorts were
chafing so he decided to ditch them and race in his tighty blackies. Ha.

I also saw another friend, Sarah Willis, from way back to my
Nordic ski days in Minnesota. She made me smile a few times and was just there
to give me strength for a few minutes. All of these people are the reason WHY I
found the courage to finish.

The last 10 miles of UTMB were actually quite pleasant.
Well, maybe that’s a stretch. But they were less arduous than what I’d anticipated.
The moon was out (again) it was a beautiful night. Despite how wrecked I was
feeling, I enjoyed covering that stretch of trail more than any other portion.
It also helped that I could smell the barn. Actually, I could see the barn. In the distance there were
some small glinting lights….really far down.

The last descent was long. Early on I tripped and fell on a
sharp rock. Not a good start. I decided to just take my time and make it in one
piece. Not a competitive bone left in my body. Or so I thought.

Sprinting for the finish line

As the lights got bigger and bigger and I could start to
hear Chamonix, I heard footsteps behind me. I didn’t think much of it because
men were passing me left and right the whole night. Suddenly, the footsteps
appeared next to me and it was a female. “Oh hell no. I’m not getting passed in
the last 2k.” Something in me flipped and it was on. I cranked down my pace and
was ready to battle. We hit the pavement stride for stride. Where were these
legs all day? We made our way through town and I found myself out ahead. I kept
moving though because I really didn’t want to be passed in the final 100
meters. I flew through the finish, in a 5:43 mile, according to Strava. Lol.

Crossing the finish line was amazing, despite being hours
after I’d hopped. I was greeted by Zach, who wished me a happy anniversary.
Yes, we raced UTMB on our first anniversary. Fitting.

I walked out of the finish area, leaning on Elisa for
support, and told her “I think you are my very bestest friend in the world” Who
stays up for 30 hours to chase you around a mountain for 3 days?! I am
constantly amazed by the selflessness of her support. I am one lucky girl!

Post-race Zach and I spent our anniversary eating and not
touching each other. Too painful! We did have a nice dinner in Paris a few days
later to celebrate though.

Happy Anniversary!

**************************************************************

In case you skipped the long-winded version, here are the cliff notes:

I ran around Mont Blanc

I suffered greatly and yet again "learned something" about myself

Many people helped me find the courage to continue along the way

I kicked it in the last mile (5:43) in a sprint out for 8th place

Zach and I celebrated our
first anniversary at the finish line of UTMB

I am lucky to have so many great friends in my life!

THANK YOU!!!

First of all, thanks to Elisa Cheng: you are the best crew and friend
a girl could ask for! You really are the reason why I finished. Thanks for
being there for me and chasing me around the mountain for 30 hours!

Next, thanks to Zach for running some early miles with me.
What fun! And for greeting me at the finish line to celebrate our anniversary......in your underwear, no less :)

Thanks to my sponsors: The North Face, Clif Bar, Flora,
Nathan Sports, Julbo, Drymax, Black Diamond, and Garmin.You make it possible for me to have these
experiences! Special thanks to Julbo for the opportunity to race and to Nathan
Sports for playing a big role race day. Stevie you are the best!

And last but not least, thanks to my friends out there on
course! Your words of encouragement meant more to me than you’ll ever know.

Uf-dah. What a day. Here’s to a race with a shorter blog
write up in the near future!